dg50@daimlerchrysler.com wrote:
> But a back-of-the-napkin calculation says that a 200'X200' pad, at a depth
> of 4", works out to roughly 40 cubic yards of concrete. At roughly 10 cubic
> yards of concrete per truckload, and roughly $100 per truckload, then that
> pad costs $4000. Still not chump change, but a 200 sqft pad is a decent
> sized skidpad....
I just happen to be a civil engineer (although I keep hearing there are no such
critters... ;^) ).
First step, throw out the napkin. Concrete is in excess of $100 per cu. m. (as
of over 5 years ago).....varies with location....I'd guess around $120/cu. m.
CDN actually. A truck has something like 7 cu. m. in it......$900-1,000 per
truck CDN. might be closer as an estimate. A truck load of fill might cost a
little over $100 provided it is not trucked very far.
> I'm thinking
> that's large enough to run a pretty decent sized autocross course on....
> and it's WAY cheaper than I thought.
Too good to be true, isn't it? ;^)
> And I bet paving with asphalt is even
> cheaper per square foot.
Not much. Note that asphalt stands up to salt a little better than concrete
(concrete is porous, did you know?).
> All of a sudden, the idea of building a dedicated autocross facility
> doesn't seem quite so far-fetched. I had always figured an initial price in
> the millions, not the tens of thousands. Can building a facility *really*
> be cheaper than buying a Dynojet?
haha...millions just may be correct! As others have already mentioned, the
concrete or asphalt is a fraction of the cost. It needs a good base or else it
will fall apart quite quickly.
That means a soils report/investigation by prof. soils engineers, a storm
drainage study/design and incorporation of storm drainage retention ponds or
some other such thing (again by specialized engineers in storm design),
transportation/traffic studies (transportation engineers), design of the
sub-base, base etc. etc. etc.......all by professional engineers, landscape
architects, etc. etc. etc.
Once the design parameters are on paper (professionally produced and stamped
drawings), you can rest assured that you will require huge equipment (take a
look next time when you pass a road construction zone or subdivision under
construction as an example) for earth moving, compaction, removal (poor soils
and topsoil) of fill, importation of engineered fill, soils testing,
asphalt/concrete testing, general engineering inspection.
Oh, and by the way, what about zoning? And ask the neighbours what they might
think (usually a part of the development permit procedure) about an autocross
facility next door? Maybe the extra traffic generated cannot be handled by the
road.... Maybe the local gov't authorities want you to provide some green
space and perhaps even some additional development outside your property at
YOUR expense (such as extensions of existing water/sewer lines, upgrading of
roads etc.).
Trust me there is much more.......and I won't even get into the issues involved
if there should be any running water (stream/river/body of water) on the
property or the land is an agricultural reserve of some sort. And, you might
even go through the entire design process and not get approval to proceed.
Feeling overwhelmed yet? You should be! ;^) Chances are you will not be
allowed to break the ground.
Our office has just recently designed a new kart track (1.1 km. - 9 meters wide
track) and even with volunteer labour and a good price (paving/earthwork co.
owned by a racer) they are still looking at something in the vicinity of a $1/4
Million not including the land (leased land).....provided it is approved by the
various local authorities affected by the development.
However, I've sometimes thought that the local club (Calgary Sports Car Club)
could sell it's clubhouse (yep, bought and paid for - the city is quickly
encroaching) and buy some land just as you are proposing and build a huge
honkin' paved lot! - still think it is a great idea although controversial
locally due to sentiments/history tied up in the clubhouse. Of course, some
facility like that would have to be far away from any concentrated development
to be "cheap". For instance, an old abandoned WWII airport used for training
might be possible to obtain.....but the cost will be significant. It might
have a decent base on which to place new asphalt or concrete after removing the
existing runway (one south of Calgary is too broken up to be used by us.....10
years ago.).
That's enough for now and then some I think... ;^)
Later,
Reijo
--
Reijo Silvennoinen, CSCC Nat'l Event Rep.
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary Sports Car Club (CSCC) web site:
http://www.cscc.ab.ca
Canadian National Autoslalom Championship (CNAC) list:
http://www.onelist.com/links/solocanada
CNAC Web Site: http://CNAC2000.erc.bc.ca/
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